hey there fellow VW bug driver....

You might have read in the news that our area of the country is experiencing heavy rains and flooding. Thankfully our area has not had the extreme flooding but we've had our fair share of rain! (non stop all day everyday is our fair share I think!) Please pray for those in other areas though-especially the hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors living in tents.

Thankfully the only affect the rains have had on us has been forcing us to stay inside all day. (Which is small in the grand scheme of things but is fairly challenging when you have a rambunctious one year old!) The rain has been falling all day. Literally. Every once in a while it lightens up enough that we think we might brave the light drizzle-only to be forced back inside when the bottom falls out within minutes of us gearing up and getting outside.

Speaking of gearing up-Yesterday after 10 hours of being inside with a one year old, I decided no matter what the weather, we had to get outside. With rain jackets, a stroller with a great covering and an umbrella, we were ready. Well almost. What we both lacked were the proper rain shoes. I've been wanting to get some rain boots for the past year. Lots of people have them in our town-young kids to old women-all in different colors. I decided last August, at the end of the rainy season that I needed a pair after my jeans and shoes got soaked every time I went to the market. Well, yesterday was our day! We headed out in the rain, desperate for something to do. First we debated getting on the public bus and just riding for a while. It is dry and something different. But I decided the stroller was a bit cumbersome for getting on a bus with my one year old in tow and my wet umbrella. First stop-the mini mart. Ahh. A dry place to hang out. We took a stroll and bought a few things I didn't necessarily need. After we killed as much time as possible we headed to the market, which turned out to be quite fun. The market is covered so we took our time buying some potatoes, onions and celery for some homemade potato soup. Then we found a new pet/plant store and spent some time looking at the fish, birds and turtles. Man was I happy to see a pet store! A little dry entertainment for the two of us pretty wet and pretty desperate girls.

Our final stop before braving the torrential rains to head home was the rain boot store. The rain had gone from a light drizzle back to a torrential down pour and I decided we could wait no longer for this purchase. I was a bit bummed that I had to buy the men's boots because my feet are more "man sized" in this country of tiny people. (the women's selection had lots of fun colors and I had my eye on the teal ones) I settled on the boring black men's size 38-that sounds big-and got Emma Grace a pair of red boots! PERFECT! Well, they are a little big on her but she's not walking yet anyway, so she has time to grow into them.

We are planning to take a trip with Xiao Li back to her hometown in July, which is the heart of rainy season and she said it would be quite muddy there so I figured we should go ahead and take the rain boot plunge. I am trying to convince Andy he needs a pair. Today EG and I went out in the pouring rain for some street breakfast and our boots came in nice and handy. (hers for a fashion statement and mine for protection from the rain all until a giant tarp I was standing under gave way and covered the back of me-all the way down into my boots with a gush of cold water)

Now I know they look a little silly but man, they are practical. (as long as you aren't standing under a faulty tarp) Plus I feel like I really fit in here when I wear them. I feel like I now have a common bond with everyone wearing them-from little preschoolers to old grannies. I want to wave at them and nod-you know, like you do when you are driving a VW bug and see someone else driving one. It's a little way to acknowlege that both of you are in a elite class of people who have learned the joys of rain boot wearing. We are family-or at least I feel that way (no one has returned my nods as of yet) Also, it makes me happy to wear them because I feel a little bit like I am finally filling my grandpa's shoes-to this days he wears boots like mine down to the barn to feed his animals. I used to put his way-too-big-for-me boots on when I was little and play in them. I feel connected to you too now, G-paw. So, just picture me waving at you and nodding-my way of saying, "Hey there. Nice boots, fellow rain boot club member"

On a final note-if you have any ideas for how to entertain a one year old inside, please please leave a comment. I will pay you in whatever size/color rain boots you want!